UH may get invite from Big East

The Coogs could be flexing their muscles in the Big East in 2013. (Smiley N. Pool/Chronicle)

By SAM KHAN JR.Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle

The University of Houston could be a part of a Bowl Championship Series automatic-qualifying conference in the near future.

UH is one of six schools that the Big East Conference is targeting for expansion, a person familiar with the conference’s expansion discussions told the Chronicle on Friday.

Air Force, Boise State, Central Florida, Navy and SMU are the other schools being targeted, and the Big East’s presidents and chancellors will conduct a conference call on Monday to further discuss expansion plans, the person said. A timetable for moving forward on expansion is unclear.

UH athletic director Mack Rhoades released a statement in response to the speculation regarding the school’s athletic conference future.

“We are aware of the growing speculation regarding conference realignment and do not feel it would be appropriate to comment on the possible intentions of another league,” the statement read. “We are flattered to be mentioned as an athletics program of national importance and we are grateful for our strong traditions and the dedication of our fans, alumni, staff and student-athletes.”

Preemptive move

The Big East is trying to expand in an effort to keep its BCS automatic-qualifying status. After losing Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference (effective in 2014) last month and losing TCU — which was to join in 2012 — to the Big 12 on Monday, the conference was whittled to six football-playing schools. The BCS contract ends after the 2013 season.

Meanwhile, UH’s current conference, Conference USA, announced a joint plan with the Mountain West Conference on Friday to consolidate football schools. The merger would join the 12 current C-USA schools with the 10 football-playing MWC schools in a league that would stretch from the East Coast to Hawaii. C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson indicated on Friday that many details still need to be worked out, and the new league is aimed to begin in 2013 but could start in 2012.

The league would include between 20 and 24 teams, and each conference would be a separate division. The leagues would need NCAA legislation for the two champions to meet in a championship game, and while the hope is that the cooperative yields a BCS bowl game bid, it’s unclear if that will happen.

“There’s no indication that this means a guaranteed automatic bid,” Thompson said. “There’s no indication that it doesn’t.”

The leagues would remain independent of each other in all other sports.

Rice athletic director Rick Greenspan supported the merger and said the Owls will benefit from more national exposure.

“We have been a supporter of this consolidation from the start and firmly believe that this bold and proactive step is one that will create greater opportunities for Rice football in the future,” Greenspan said.

Long relationship

UH is a charter member of C-USA, which has been in existence since 1995. Houston joined the league in the fall of 1996 after the Southwest Conference broke up.

The Big East is in its 33rd year of existence. A move to the Big East would give UH easier access to a BCS bowl game bid, since the Big East’s champion has automatic-qualifying status until the current BCS contract expires.

C-USA bylaws specify that a member institution must give the conference one calendar year advance notice before withdrawing.

sam.khan@chron.com

twitter.com/skhanjr

NEW LOOK?
If the Big East invites all the schools it is targeting for expansion and they all accept, here’s a glance at what a possible two- division setup could look like:Division 1: Air Force, Boise State, Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, SMUDivision 2: Central Florida, Connecticut, Navy, Rutgers, South Florida, West Virginia